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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

I WANT! a Less Awkward PV

Okay, now that I'm done taking a trip down nostalgia lane with Monochrome Effect, it's time I bounced back to the present and review Berryz Koubou's Want! song and PV! And to think I was just wondering when this PV would be released...

So a preview for Want! has been floating around the web for a month or so now and from what I heard in the preview, the song was enjoyable! It definitely wasn't anything new in terms of sound but it's not like I expect groundbreaking music from idol groups! However, it is a pretty new style of music for the Berryz girls! From what I recall, I don't think they've tackled an electropop song... at least not on this level of electropop. Yep, we've got yet another electropop release from Hello! Project but this time Berryz Koubou has been hit with the electropop virus! And considering how much you like electropop that's either the best thing to happen to them this year or the worst... I don't know, I enjoy the song but I'm a little worried that UFP is convinced that every H!P song from now on should be electropop. Oh well, I'll have to wait a few more singles down the road before I can see if that observation turned out to be true! But as of now, I like this song! I like it a lot! Do I like Cha Cha Sing better? Yeah... but this still good! It's still a pretty catchy song too, like in the verses where there's this constant repetition of the word "kawaii." Why? I don't know, my Japanese is on skill with a sock puppet's! And the Autotune isn't terrible either, though I doubt the song would have sounded much different if it hadn't been used! I guess the song is sort of a mindless kind of fun for me; it doesn't really stand out much against all the other electropop songs this year but for a Berryz song it's very different! And you can't deny that it has a lot energy behind it, maybe not as much as Cha Cha Sing but still a nice amount! There's also really even line distribution; that's always been something I admired about Berryz. They have clear leads but no one really gets shafted in their songs with a few exceptions. So overall is it my favorite single from Berryz this year? No, but it's pretty fun and pretty catchy to listen to! As someone who likes electropop I can

But of course... I'm getting a little worried. This is the third electropop A-side from UFP this year and I don't think they have any intentions of stopping. As good as this song sounds, it's really similar in sound to Wakuteka Take a Chance; at least the instrumental is. The vocals are definitely different but they have that same tone of electropop, the catchy mindless dance music tone. I know that electropop is kind of the shiny new toy for Hello! Project now and a lot of people are really gung ho about this change in style but do you remember when Resonant Blue was released? You know, that single that started the trend of Emo Musume and the stagnant lineup and songs that everyone was frustrated with and the really poor line distribution? I don't know exactly what the reactions to Resonant Blue were at the time (I had just started my binge on Perfume in 2008) but that was also a huge change in musical style for Hello! Project. And I can bet you this change in style caused just as many different reactions as the electropop is causing right now and it was seen as a cool and new image for Morning Musume. Well, if UFP isn't careful, my theory is these electropop releases are going to get just as similar and stagnant as those Emo Musume songs did and soon everyone's going to get sick of it. Then again, electropop has a lot more experimentation opportunities than sadcore music so who knows? Maybe it'll turn out to be a great era of diverse musical releases from Hello! Project. But I'm sticking to my theory about this electropop style losing its luster for H!P fans after a few years and if I turn out to be wrong, I give you all permission to point and laugh at me! I hope it doesn't but I'm very uneasy about this new style of music for H!P; it's either going to be really awesome or I'm going to get really irritated with it after. Hopefully I'm wrong and this can be a theory we can laugh about a year or so later but I can help but feel like electropop is going to get really overused in the future. Well, for now I think I'll just enjoy Want! because it really is a fun and playful song to listen to!

Now do you have any idea how long I've WANT!ed to see the PV? I don't either, I just wanted to use that pun!

Now that's a really cute set! The rooms are done really cute and it's cool the way the set rotates!

The hell is that thing supposed to be in the background? It looks like a glowing decorated egg!

Okay, I can't see squat in this dance shot. Can someone turn the lights on?

Why does every electropop song have to have robot dance moves with it?

I can see! I can see! I can see... the outfits. They don't look so bad in this shot! Maybe the outfits can work for the-

What. The. Hell. Wha... what is this!? Some weird, rotating brothel!?

Oh well, at least Miya lost the odd hair extensions. What is this now, Hairstyle #62?

Risako, who does your hair? You look like Ariel from The Little freaking Mermaid!

Well... at least the dance shot is pretty cool so far!

The set... the outfits... they don't match up at all!

CHINAMI! I think over this year she's become my favorite member in Berryz!

Can it be!? No more pigtails!? JOY! So much joy... but I admit, I think I saw that hairstyle in a Full House episode.

Stop glaring at me, Risako!

Despite the extreme awkwardness of these scenes, Miyabi is still a goddess.

I love how Momoko's not even tryingto look sexy!

Agh, the rotating rooms, the colors, the overly sexy costumes, it feels like I'm watching the S&M version of Sekaichii Happy na Onna no Ko!

See!?

But even so Maasa is still a boss.

I think I always knew Miyabi and Risako had a thing for Momoko's boobs.

You know what these costumes remind me of?

Lili von Schtupp! Lili von fwiggin Shctupp!

And the Risako Pout strikes again!

Not so high and mighty now that you're not the only ones using electropop, huh?

Your argument is invalid. We could do this in our sleep, only ten times better than you ever could.

Wow, that sign in the back actually isn't Engrish! Nice!

Why are you shaking up and down? Is the floor electrocuting you guys or something?

Okay, I think this was supposed to look hot but to me it just looks awkward.

Weeeeee~ someone should make a GIF of the rotating room shot!

Can't think of anything to put in the bridge of the PV? Well, you can be like UFP and throw in some gratuitous leg shots!

I know, Yurina, those costumes are really awkward.

And so the PV ends the same way it began. Literally! I'm not sure why...

Okay... Berryz Koubou has never worked as a sexy group for me; I don't know why but they just haven't. For me, C-ute pulls off the concept of being sexy/sensual much better. I remember back in 2011 when the Ai no Dangan PV was released and it featured Berryz trying oh-so-hard to be sexy but it fell fantastically flat for me. I've always thought that the girls looked better doing cuter and more... innocent PVs where they relied on their personalities! This is why I loved the Cha Cha Sing and Loving you too much PVs so much because it was the perfect balance of fun and peppiness and the girls' personalities really shined! But this PV lacks any of the charm that those last two had and I'm not sure if it wants to be adorable or sexy. On one hand, the drunken costume designers put the Berryz girls in these costumes that were supposed to look sexy but in the end they don't thanks to the way this PV was made. They've got fishnets, garter belts, gratuitous lace and jewelry, it's just too much. And then the directors threw them into this set with a bunch of really cute and charming rooms all connected together so you would think they'd do some cute stuff in here but instead they're striking sexy poses and the effect is really, really weird. You have two extremes put into one shot and I don't know if the viewer is supposed to think these shots are hot or adorable. And even then if I experienced sexual attraction, I don't think I would be turned on by this PV. It's just to me, Berryz has always felt out of its element any time they try to be really sexy and this is just overdoing it to the point where it's laughable. Have you ever seen the movie Showgirls? If you haven't, don't waste your time (it's a horrible movie) but that movie also involves a lot of sexiness but there's so much of it that it eventually becomes more a joke. I think if the costume designers had toned down the sexiness of these costumes and maybe the set designers had redone the rooms to match, then this would have been a really cool PV. I will say it's not as blatantly sexy as say, the Ice Cream Lady's music video that everyone went berserk about (I can't remember the idol's name for the life of me but she released a controversial PV about ice cream that was accused of being tastelessly sexy). I'm sure a lot of people will like the Want! PV but for me, this type of sexiness is just not my thing.

And I'm not saying that I'm against Berryz doing a sexy concept; they're all pretty much grown women by now so it's not like it's illegal or anything for them. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think this image worked for them as well as an alternate image because of the contrast between the costumes and the set. Because at its core the PV is good but with the costumes and the set it looks awkward to me; the girls themselves look fine! Ugh, I'm not making sense, am I? It's like... cupcakes! If I receive a cupcake with just a nice little cake base and a little bit of tasty chocolate icing on top, then I think that's the perfect cupcake. But if I get a cupcake that is overloaded with icing and sprinkles and everything you can pile on a cupcake, I think that's way too much. The Want! PV is essentially an over-the-top cupcake for me! The funny thing is although the outfits don't work well at all for me in the rotating room shots, in the dance shots they look perfectly fine. Maybe because you can't exactly see them as well but still; the dance shot looks cool and it fits the vibe the costumes are going for. I actually think I'll like the dance shot of this song better than the actual PV when it comes out. It helps too that the dance is really good; the formations are nice and it has a lot of variety! So in the end, I'm very 50/50 on this PV because while there are parts that I like (i.e. the dance shot) there are also parts that just don't work for me.

I want to give Want! 3.5 out of 5 apples The PV gets really awkward at times and there were definitely things I would have changed about it (mainly the costuming) but the song is a really fun listen! It may be another electropop release but Want! is an enjoyable song and I want it to do well on the charts!

7 comments:

Do you really think was awkward? I thought it was alright. My only complaint is the dull dance set where some fans suggested the colours of the members when they sing could be added in the middle which would have been nice!

But I really like the song, dance (watch me learn it XD), MV and outfits. I believe Yurina, Massa, Risako, Chinami and Saki look the best in them.

LOL This is the strangest video they've had since Watashi no Mirai Danna-sama but this one takes the strangeness to a brand new level. And it still feels half assed? Why can't UFA ever make a PV that doesn't feel half assed?